*T*°f 










o 
o 

Ay 



*<**^ 



IA___ 

_4£.4 



Author 



Title 



Imprint 



16—47372-3 GPO 



,\jo9> 



REPORT 



ON THE 



Preservation of Wood, 



BY 

Gen. J. K.'BARNES, Surgeon-General, U. S. A. 

Gen. A. A. HUMPHREYS, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. 

Gen. M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster-General, U. S. A. 

Gen. O. E. BABCOCK, Com'r Public Buildings 

and Grounds. 

TO THE 

BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS 

OF THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



WITH TABULATED RESULTS OF AN EXAMINATION OF ALL THE BEST KNOWN 

METHODS, CONDUCTED BY 

Dr. B. F. CRAIG, A. A. Surgeon, U. S. A. 

AND 

Dr. W. C. TILDEN, A. A. Surgeon, U. S. A. 

AT THE LABORATORY OF THE SURGEON-GENERAL's OFFICE". 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

1872. 



REPORT 



ON THE 



Preservation' of Wood, 



BY 

Gen. J. K. BARNES, Surgeon-General, U. S. A. 

Gen. A. A. HUMPHREYS, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. 

Gen. M. C. MEIGS, Quartermaster-General, U. S. A, 

Gen. O. E. BABCOCK, Com'r Public Buildings 

and Grounds. 

TO THE 

BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS 

OF THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



WITH TABULATED RESULTS OF AN EXAMINATION OF ALL THE BEST KNOWN 

METHODS, CONDUCTED BY 

Dr. B. F. CRAIG, A. A. Surgeon, U. S. A. 

AND 

Dr. W. C. TILDEN, A. A. Surgeon, U. S. A. 

AT THE LABORATORY OF THE SURGEON-GENERAL's OFFICE. 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

1872. 



to 





T/V42-4- 

,1X5 



War Department, Surgeon-General's Office, 

Washington, D. C, May 8, 1872. 

Hon. A. R. Shepherd : 

Sir. — I have the honor to transmit herewith, the report 
on different processes of preserving wood, with result of very 
thorough and careful experiments, made by Doctors Craig 
and Tilden in the laboratory of this office. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. K. BARNES. 

(A true copy.) 

Edward Johnson, 

Chief Clerk. 



May 7th, 1872. 

General J. K. Barnes, U. S. A. : 

Sir. — The examination of the paving-blocks sent to this 
office by the Board of Public Works, has been conducted by 
A. A. Surgeon Tilden, U. S. A., to whose report, with the 
accompanying tables and diagrams, I have the honor to refer 
for detailed information. 

The specimens submitted were of two kinds: Firstly, those 
impregnated with mineral antiseptics, of which the Burnett- 
ized blocks may be taken as a type ; and, Secondly, those 
in which the impregnation has been with certain organic 
liquids — hydrocarbons and resinous oils — substances whose 
efficacy, over and above the strictly antiseptic qualities of 
some of them, depends on their possession of the physical 



properties of oils, and their consequent power of excluding 
water— the most essential agent in the decomposition of 

wood. 

The chemical researches have been directed toward the 
determination of the nature, the extent and uniformity of the 
impregnation of the wood, and of the extent to which the 
wood has been rendered impermeable to water. The ques- 
tion of the efficacy of any particular impregnation, when 
thoroughly made, is one which is rather to be decided upon 
by the civil engineer, from r*he results of experience, than by 
the investigations of the laboratory. 

In the case of the first-named class of blocks— those of min- 
eral impregnation— it is probable that the Burnettized pro- 
cess will be accepted as the one whose value is the best 
established by experience. 

In regard to blocks of the second class, our experiments 
can, perhaps, furnish rather more positive guidance to the 
engineer, and in this connection, attention is called to the 
Diagram marked " D," on which is represented, graphically, 
the results of those experiments which are considered to 
have the most important bearings. The chief line of the 
Diagram (that in black ink) represents the amounts of water 
absorbed by different blocks, after immersion for forty-eight 
hours, the absorption being hastened by the use of the air- 
pump. It will be seen that the woods impregnated with oil, 
took up amounts of water varying from two and nine-tenths 
per cent, to twenty-four and three-tenths per cent. ; while the 
woods of mineral impregnation absorb much larger, but 
widely varying amounts. As connected with the power of 
excluding water, the amounts of oily matter found in the 
block has been represented on the same diagram — that from 
the centre of the blocks, in blue, and that from the outside in 
red ink — so that both the extent and the uniformity of the 
impregnation are presented to the eye. It may be remarked, 
that the six blocks which absorb the least amounts of water, 
and are the most thoroughly impregnated with oils, belong 
to only two sets of specimens, four of them being samples of 
the results of the Secly process, in which the wood is im- 
mersed at a temperature of 250 F. in a bath of the " dead 
oil " of commerce ; an oil which is strongly antiseptic from 



the presence of carbolic and cresylic alcohols, &c. The other 
two specimens, Nos. 3 and 13, belong to an undescribed pro- 
cess, in which impregnation seems to have been made with 
resin oil, and the result of the treatment has unfortunately 
been to weaken very much the fibres of the wood, and to 
give it a tendency to wear away by friction. 

One of the blocks presented, may be described as hardly 
belonging to either of the classes above spoken of. The 
protection given to the block is a mechanical one, viz. : the 
covering of the block with asphaltum. To make this protec- 
tion efficacious, the covering on the upper side of the block 
should be harder and more tenacious than it appears to be in 
the specimen submitted. In the cases of some of the mineral 
impregnations, chiefly those where two fluids have been 
used in succession, the process appears to have failed from 
mechanical difficulties, which may, in future trials, be over- 
come, but which exclude the present samples from the 
possibility of successful competition. 
I have the honor to remain, 

Very respectfully yours, 

(Signed), B. F. CRAIG, 

A. A. Surgeon, U. S. A. 



MEMORANDA 

OF 

Experiments on some Wood-Preserving Processes. 

Laboratory, Surgeon-General's Office, 

May 4th, 1872. 

The problem of wood-preservation is to be considered from 
two stand-points, according to the use to be made of the 
wood after treatment, because the decay of wood fibre has 
two distinct causes. " Dry rot," or that form of decay which 
occurs in wood exposed to atmospheric influences alone, is 
due to the development of certain fungous germs which exist 
in all organic tissues, and which depend upon warmth and 
moisture for their growth and destructive effects. " Wet 
rot" is understood to be caused by those fermentative 



changes consequent upon alternate wetting and drying, 
which take place in the albuminous substances which encrust 
the ligneous cells and fill the cellular tissue. Timber which 
is entirely submerged does not decay. Free access of oxygen, 
and a degree of warmth, above the mean temperature of 
large bodies of water, are needed. 

The conditions of the first subdivision of the problem are 
comparatively simple. It is easy to guard vegetable albumen 
against ordinary causes of change, by substances which 
coagulate it, without afterwards deliquescing, and simulta- 
neously emplo} ing a temperature sufficient to destroy all 
germs of organic life which the wood may contain. Where 
wood is thoroughly impregnated by a proper antiseptic, at a 
temperature of at least 250 F., there is reason to believe 
that it may last indefinitely in a dry atmosphere. Even 
seasoning alone, when carefully managed, appears to have 
rendered wood indestructible under these circumstances. 
But when it is to be exposed to the action of a powerful sol- 
vent — as natural waters, which are alkaline in reaction, and 
especially if air and water act alternately upon it- — the dif- 
ficulties multiply amazingly. Few substances known to 
chemistry are capable, at the same time of solution, so as to 
saturate the wood, of non-liability to absorb aqueous moisture, 
and of insolubility in all the liquids which may act upon 
wood when laid in pavement, or otherwise dangerously ex- 
posed. The experiments made illustrate the truth of this 
brief preliminary note. 

The specimens submitted, are to be divided into two prin- 
cipal classes. The first includes those which are treated with 
solutions of mineral or metallic salts. Nos. 2, 5, 8, 9, 14, 16, 17, 
19, 21. The second embraces those blocks which have been 
more or less thoroughly impregnated with hydrocarbon 
substances, Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 20, and 22. 
The claims of the first class are either (1.) the protection of 
the vegetable albumen encrusting the cells of woody fibre, 
and the destruction of fungoid germs, by the presence of an • 
antiseptic material; or, (2.) the filling or occlusion of the 
visible pores, after coagulation of the more readily ferment- 
able matters has been induced. Some defects of these pro- 
cesses are shown by the experiments. Jirst — The fact that 



the preserving" fluids, having originally been aqueous solu- 
tions, are readily withdrawn from the wood by the action of 
water. Second — In most instances, the character of the 
chemicals used, is such, as to attack the cell walls as well as 
their more unstable contents, thus lessening their mechan- 
ical strength, and predisposing to decay, when circumstances 
favor; and Third — In those processes which design to fill 
the pores of the wood with insoluble substance (formed b)~ a 
re -arrangement of several chemical compounds), the reaction 
which occurs is only partial, and confined to the superficies, 
being hindered by the formation of the insoluble salt, at and 
near the surface. An inspection of the columns of density 
and weight, in the case of No. 16, will illustrate this state- 
ment. The aim of this process seems to be the formation of 
a kind of artificial stone within the wood cells. It would be 
less expensive and more feasible, to use larger and removable 
moulds, instead of tubes, or inter-cellular spaces, which are 
generally less than -^-^ inch in diameter. 

I have failed to verify some results published by chemists, 
in the examination of wood treated by this class of preserva- 
tive agents. My experiments show, that it is always possible 
to dissolve, and remove entirely, any mineral or metallic salt 
which may have been deposited, with any great degree of 
thoroughness, throughout a paving-block. Slightly acidu- 
lated water, acting upon raspings of Burnettized spruce, re- 
moves every trace of zinc. I also notice the, at least, partial 
decomposition of the salt, the first portions of pure distilled 
water used for washing, containing chlorine, but yielding no 
reaction for zinc. Microscopical examination of sections of 
each of the specimens of this class, shows that the impregna- 
tion is not complete. The appearances observed indicate 
that the liquids used did not possess the " wetting property,'' 
but that when forced into the wood, instead of evenly ad- 
hering to the cell walls, the) r tend to cohere in minute glob- 
ules, usually separated from each other by several diameters 
of the long cells. 

Block No. 17 contains arsenic; and block No. 14 claims 
its use. The danger incurred by the workmen employed in 
preparing wood by these processes, long ago led to their 
abandonment. Arsenic is also gradually soluble in the 



surface-water of streets, and possibly will prove seriously 
injurious, as dust, when borne by the winds into human 
lungs and dwellings. 

Without mentioning each specimen of this class, further 
than to call attention to the figures obtained by experiment, 
I note, that as they do not exclude water (as a class), even as 
perfectly as natural wood, they cannot be advantageously 
employed for pavement purposes ; also, that the chemicals 
used injure the strength of wood-fibre materially, and that 
the dust from such pavements cannot improve the public 
health. Admitting that dry rot can be delayed by such 
treatment of wood, more than this cannot be justly claimed. 

The blocks of the second class — those treated with hydro- 
carbon fluids or vapors — present some interesting specimens 
of the recent improvements in the art of preserving wood. 
They comprise: (i.) The saturation of the wood by a solu- 
tion of common resin, or by resin-oil ; (2.) by the vapor of 
creosote-oil ; and, (3.) by the direct application of " dead," or 
creosote oil by an ingenious management of the tempera- 
tures of two oil baths. All claim the withdrawal of the sap, 
its replacement by the material used (whether liquid or 
gaseous), and the destruction of organic germs, together 
with the coagulation of nitrogenous matters. 

Nos. 3 and 13 are soaked in " resin " oil (one of the last 
products of the destructive distillation of resin.) Their small 
size has enabled them to be very completely filled by the oil, 
thus reducing absorptive power, and increasing their density. 
From my own experience, I do not hesitate to doubt the 
possibility of securing an impregnation equal to these small 
samples, upon large pieces of wood, unless very powerful 
machinery is employed. The character of woody fibre seems 
in them almost lost. They cut more like wax than like wood. 
When broken, the fracture is abrupt and clean, and the fibre 
bears very little strain. The water in which their absorptive 
power was tested, was filled with globules of oil, and frag- 
ments of partially disintegrated woody fibre, not removed 
by abrasion, or by any mechanical agitation. 

No. 1 1 is soaked in a bath made by dissolving resin in 
gasolene, or naphtha. It exhibits some of the peculiarities 
of Nos. 3 and 13, though in a much less marked degree. The 



9 

impregnation is not so complete, but was apparently effected 
at a much lower temperature, and with less injury to the 
cell-walls. Common resin is not a very reliable substance. 
It is a mixture of two acids (sylvic and pinic), Avhich are sa- 
ponifiable, and is, therefore, exposed to the danger of gradual 
solution in water which is even slightly alkaline. It con- 
tains no antiseptic principle recognized as such, and can 
only be said to act as a wood preservative, in so far as it ex- 
cludes water. There is also difficulty in its economical use, 
without greatly injuring the texture of the wood. 

No. i is an anomalous instance of saturation by a solution 
of chloride of sodium, followed by a bath of " dead oil of tar." 
Neither of the liquids has penetrated far into the block, as 
columns 3, 4, 5 and 6 show — and the absorptive power of 
the wood is high. Nos. 10 and 20, also j 5, have been sub- 
jected to the vapor of " dead oil." The Robbins' process 
(Nos. 10 and 20), is thus described by the inventor: "At 
300 F., the vapor of naphtha passes over. This drives the 
air out of the chamber, and out of the pores of the wood. 
At 350 to 400 of heat, carbolic acid, or creosote, is gener- 
ated ; this permeates the blocks thoroughly, and furnishes an 
antiseptic which will prevent fermentative putrefaction 
or decay. At about 500 F., the heavy oils are vaporized. 
They condense in the wood — that is, prime it — and thus fur- 
nish to the fabric complete resistance to the moisture of the 
atmosphere." 

No. 15 is prepared by a process which is inferior, though 
similar to this. 

Nos. 4, 6, 7, 12 and 22 are specimens of the " Seely pro- 
cess," which " consists in enclosing the wood to be treated in 
a cylinder of iron, which is filled with creosote oil. Heat 
is then applied by means of a steam coil, to such a degree 
(250 F.) as to vaporize the sap, which passes off through a 
dome, to a condenser. When the condenser no longer shows 
the flow of sap, the pores are free from water, and contain 
only steam. The hot bath is now quickly replaced by a 
cold bath of the same oil, which condenses the steam in the 
pores, and the cold oil is forced .into the wood by atmos- 
pheric pressure, assisted by capillary action." A reference 
to the experimental results, shows some important differ- 



10 

ences between the blocks prepared by the vapor process 
and those which have been saturated by the oil itself, by 
the above method. 

The former are far more porous, absorb many times more 
water, and yield much smaller percentages of oleaginous 
matters to solvents than the latter. Both these processes 
depend, first, upon the exposure of the wood to a tempera- 
ture sufficient to destroy organic life; and, second, upon 
the well-known and unequaled preservative effects of car- 
bolic and cresylic acids. These acids are soluble in water, 
and hence, if not protected against its action, will, sooner or 
later, be removed from a block. The filling or sealing of the 
pores, by some substance which is not liable to easily oxidize 
or volatilize, is absolutely necessary to secure the continued 
and complete protective agency of the alcohols contained in 
dead oil. The experiments show such protection to be 
afforded in cases numbered 4, 6, 7, 12, but not in Nos. 1, 10, 
15, and 20, all of which possess high absorptive power. The 
vapor processes claim the deposition throughout wood, of 
the heavier hydrocarbons contained in dead oil. Blocks No. 
4, 6, 7, 12, exhibit the shining flakes of naphthaline, &c, but 
none were observed in Nos. 10, 15, and 20. The high tem- 
perature at which these solids are converted into vapor, ren- 
ders it doubtful if wood can be impregnated with them, from 
the vaporous state. Wood being a poor conductor of heat — 
(pine, 0.39 : water, 1,) large pieces cannot 9 be uniformly 
raised to 500° F. without charring the exterior. If, by the 
Robbins' process, this temperature is employed, the strength 
of the fibre must be greatly diminished, and this effect was 
observed in the specimens of paving-blocks sent to the Labor- 
atory. The limit' of safety for pine wood is probably under 
300 F. There is also a manifestly large waste of work by 
this process, and for this reason alone, any method which 
secures an equally thorough saturation by the whole oil, 
without the large expenditure of heat in vaporizing it, should 
be preferred. 

The Seely process, by which so favorable results have 
been given in this investigation, is an improvement upon 
the old vacuum and pressure processes, in respect to the 
removal of sap and moisture from the wood. I have 



11 

myself observed the impossibility ■ of removing - any consid- 
erable percentage of water from wood by the use of the air- 
pump ; while .the direct application of an oil bath, heated to 
a point above 21 2° F., and continued for some hours, gave 
very satisfactory results. All the processes which use dead 
oil, possess an advantage which arises from the antiseptic 
and disinfectant character of the material. It may be justly 
claimed that, without proving offensive to the senses, pave- 
ments thus prepared will favorably affect the health of a 
city. 

Respectfully submitted to the Surgeon-General, to accom- 
pany tabular statements and diagrams. 

W. C. TILDEN, 

A. A. Surgeon, U. S. A. 







EXPERIMENTAL 


RESULTS. 






s* 

a-° 

© 

o 


1 
Is 

03.2 
O 


2 
= gs 

SSS 
. «ft 

■S S M 

S'S c 

<a u S 

* a E 

c 


3 

sal! .s 
|15 

ill 

SI* 

o 5,» 

. O ^3 

t kg 


4 

•^ o 

P P- 

O * O 
# T! O 

•■5 '-2 3 
||| 

Ph~ 

a 

o 


5 


6 

c 
"a 


7 

o 

13 

cu ™ o 

& >-=! 
fcU<u 

s 

'o 


Apparent specific 
gravity ot superficial portions QD 
of each block. 


Weight of 
one cubic foot of density of SO 
column 7. 


10 

■k 

"5 C 

«— c 
'<:(<-> s 

3 U 

•- — 

3> 
O 


11 

© 

o 

•s 

o 
o 

SS 


1. 

8x3x6 in. 


per cent 
24.29 


per cent 
1.00 


per cent 
4.55 


per cent 
* 33.8 


per cent 
1.72 


per cent 
13.6 


0.412 


0.568 


lbs. 
25.1 


lbs. 
35.5 


Acid. 


2. 

8x8x4^ in. 


47.90 


0.21 


2.34 


7.7 


1.86 


6.2 


0.443 


0.472 


27.6 j 29.5 


Acid. 


3. 
2x6x1 m. 


5.08 


0.43 


7.7 


5.08 


0.33 


0.4 


1.116 


1.007 


69.7 62.9 


Acid. 


4. 
4x6x2 in. 


7.25 


0.39 


35.4 


40.00 


2.1 




0.707 


0.700 


44.1 43.7 


Faintly 
Acid. 


5 - . 
4x4^x2 in. 


46.64 


1.01 


2.64 


9.55 


1.63 


7.2 


0.619 


0.6706 


38.6 41.9 


Faintly 
Acid. 


6. 
10x6x4 in. 


3.32 


0.16 


centre & 

surface. 

17. 




0.35 




0.5608 


0.650 


35.0 40.6 


Faintly 
Acid. 


7. 
9x4x1 in. 


8.46 


0.33 


centre& 

surface. 

22.8 


0.45 




0.845 




52.8 


Faintly 
Acid. 


8 
6x6x3 in. 


97.58 


0.46 


1.55 


3.3 


1.46 


5.4 


0.484 


0.498 


40.2 41.1 


Faintly 
Acid. 


9. 

7x63^x5 in. 


31.36 


0.26 


1.16 


3.45 


1.45 


1.60 


0.4609 


0.439 


28.8 ! 27.4 


Acid. 


10. 
12x6x3 in. 


22.80 


1.00 


1.96 


12.25 


0.52 




0.4202 


0.445 


26.2 : 27.8 


Faintly 
Acid. 


11. 
12x6x4 in. 


1615 


0.5 


14.83 


23.7 


0.38 




0.7005 


0.833 


43.7 


52.0 


Faintly 
Acid. 


12. 
12x7x4 in. 


13.54 


0.10 


16.2 


17.6 


0.29 




0.601 


0.633 


37.5 


39.5 


Faintly 
Acid. 


13. 
4x5x3 in. 


2.88 


0.13 


35.07 


41.4 


0.36 




1.095 


1.064 


68.4 


66.5 


Acid. 


14. 
6x3x2 in. 


21.27 


5.44 


31.3 


73.5 


21.9 


24.8 


0.455 




28.4 


Acid. 


15. 

8x6x3 in. 


23.19 


0.23 


10.8 


13.4 


0.52 




0.6004 


0.617 


37.5 


38.5 


Faintly 
Acid. 


16. 
10x6x3 in. 


29.11 


0.59 


1.91 


7.5 


1.8 


3.8 


0.449 


0.554 


28.0 


34.6 


Acid. 


17. 
10x6x3 in. 


31.98 


9.54 


9.17 


67.0 


6.74 


38.8 


0.449 


0.541 


28.0 


33.8 


Neutral. 


18. 
5x4x3 in. 


28.93 


0.16 










0.493 




30.8 






19 
5x4x3 in. 


62.74 


0.64 


















Acid. 


20. 
10x6x3 in. 


78.10 


0.21 










0.429 




26.8 






21. 






1.57 


4.7 


1.63 




0.519 










22. 

Small piece from 
a pavement in 
N. Y., laid three 
years. 






35. 








0.407 




25.4 
(very 
dry.) 







MINERAL & METALLIC PROCESSES. 



Name and Numbek. 



Burnettized Spruce. 
Two specimens. Nos.2aud 
9. (No. 2 is a piece of rail- 
road tie, said to have been 
buried sixteen years.) 



Brief of Claim. 



"The Burnettizing process consists in placing the wood in 
large wrought iron cylinders ; then extracting the air and sap 
contained in the pores of the wood by a vacuum. The solu- 
tion of chloride of zinc is then allowed to run in, and a pres- 
sure of from 150 to l(i0 lbs. per square inch applied to force 
the zinc into the pores." 

Perfect coagulation of albumen and entire indestructibility 
by wet or dry rot are claimed. 



A. B. Tripler's Arsenic Pro- 
cess. 
One specimen. No. 14. 



The Samuel's Process. 

Nos. 8and5(?;. 



Saturation of blocks composing a wooden pavement with 
chloride of arsenic, or arsenic and chloride of sodium, and 
coating them on their upper surface with a resinous or tarry 
waterproof composition. Also, the interposition of an anti- 
septic compound between the blocks and the earth, by either 
soaking the foundation planks or mixing the antiseptic with 
the sand. 



"Injecting into the pores of the wood, first, a solution of 
of sulphate of iron, and afterwards a solution of common 
burnt lime, to render the wood in a high degree impervious to 
the influence of wet and dry rot, and the attacks of worms and 
other iDsects. 11 



Thilmany's Process. 
One specimen. No. 16. 



Saturation with sulphate of copper, followed by muriate of 
barytes, to form insoluble sulphate of barytes in the wood. 



Process of Wirt and Hurdle. 

Specimens 18(a) and 18(b). 



Tait's Process. 
One specimen said to have 
been sent, marked No. 5- 
Analysis, however, places this 
block with No. 8, as a sample 
of the Samuel's process. 



Thomas Tay lot's Process. 
Two specimens. Nos. 19 & 21. 



Charring the wood and covering the whole block with as- 
phaltum. 



" Charging or saturating the pores of the wood with a con- 
centrated solution of bi-sulphitc of lime or baryta, the same 
being rendered soluble by excess of sulphuric acid gas. 
under pressure or by refrigeration, and being made insoluble 
as a neutral sulphate when the pressure or excess of gas is 
removed." 



Uses a solution of sulphide of calcium in pyroligneous acid 
for the impregnation of the wood; or, uses sulphide of cal- 
cium first, and follows it with pyroligneous acid. 

Claims a deposit of pure sulphur through whole block. 



Thompson & Co.'s Process. 
(Arsenic.) 



No. 17. 



No description or explanation of process furnished. 
Claims "indestructibility" and "non-inflammability." 



Laboratory, Surgeon-General's Office. 



Remarks. 



Fibre of blocks weak and brittle ; color greyish. 

Absorptive power greater than that of natural wood. All of the zinc easily removed by 
acidulated water. Evidences of the partial decomposition of the zinc chloride observed. 
Uneven character of impregnation shown both by microscopic examination and by unequal 
percentage of mineral matters removed by acidulated water from centre and near surface. 
(See Columns 3 and 4 of Experimental Results.) 



Size of specimen very small, yet the impregnation uneven. (See Columns 3 and 4.) Quan- 
tities of soluble salts very large. No arsenic found, though its use is claimed. The resinous 
covering designed to protect the top of each block is worthless for the purpose, for obvious 
reasons, chiefly its brittleness. 

Absorptive power high. 



Absorptive power too high for representation on the chart. Wood brittle and readily splin- 
tered. Impregnation very unequal. The water used for Experiment IN T o. 1 (absorptive), was 
filled with threads of fungi after standing forty-eight hours, showing that it is doubtful if even 
dry rot can be prevented by this process. 



Saturation very uneven. Absorptive power high. 

Block contains soluble salts of copper removable by washing. 



Process inapplicable to unseasoned timber. The asphalt covering melts and flows at 60° to 
70° F. When cold and brittle, the wear of the pavement will remove it, leaving each block as 
a porous cup for the reception of water which cannot drain through it. Process not considered 
worth particular investigation. 



It is doubtful if any specimen was received. No. 5 resembles the "ironized" blocks. If 
claimed as a sample of the Tait process, the same memoranda are made upon it as upon No. 8. 



The claims of this process are not substantiated. 
No sulphur uncombined found in any part of blocks submitted. 

About nine-tenths the whole bulk of each block possessed every property of seasoned white 
pine untreated by any method whatever. 
Between three and four per cent, sulphate of lime found in superficial portions. 



An arsenic process. Absorption power high. Specimen is cottonwood. 
Saturation extremely uneven. Solubility of saline ingredients complete. 



Creosote Oil and Resin Processes. 

Laboratory, Surgeon- General's Office. 



Name and Number. 



Waterbury's Pro- 
cess. 
One Specimen. 
No. 1. 



Thomas' Process. 

Two Specimens. 

Nos. 3 and 13. 



Seely's Process. 

Five Specimens. 



Pelton's Apparatus. 

for applying Seely 

Process. 

Nos. 4, 6, 7, 12, 22. 



Bobbins' Process. 

Two Specimens. 

Nos. 10 and 20. 



Brief of Claim. 



Treats wood in closed cylinder 
with steam to vaporize sap ; then 
introduces a solution of common 
salt, followed by dead oil, creosote 
oil or equivalent. Claims com- 
plete impregnation by both sub- 
stances. 



Two small blocks, 2x6x1 and 
4x5x3 in., were sent without ex- 
planation or name ; the substance 
used for impregnation is "resin 
oil." 



Detwiler and Van 

Gilder Process. 

No. 11. 



U. S. Antiseptic 
Wood Co.'s Process. 

Constant and Smith 
Patents. 
No. 15. 



Immersion of wood in a bath 
of creosote oil or other suitable 
material, heated to about 250° F., 
until it is evident that air and 
moisture are eliminated ; then 
substituting for the hot bath, one 
at as low a temperature as allows 
perfect fluidity, the liquor being 
also dead oil. Claims that the 
pores of the wood are in a vacu- 
ous condition as it cools, and 
that the impregnating material 
readily fills them by capillary ac- 
tion and atmospheric pressure. 



Claims to impregnate wood 
with light and heavy oils of tar, 
by exposure in a chamber con- 
nected with a retort or still in 
which the oils are vaporized ; 
states that naphthalin and other 
solid hydrocarbon bodies are dis- 
tilled over into the wood and con- 
densed in its pores ; also that all 
moisture is driven out and the 
albumen coagulated. 



Impregnation of wood by resin 
dissolved in naphtha, under pres- 
sure, and at high temperature. 



Dries ox seasons wood by hoi air; 
preserves it, (when desired), by 
generating "smoky vapors^ in a 
retort, the same being allowed to 
penetrate the wood and to con- 
dense within its pores. 



Remarks. 



Absorption figures high. Satu- 
ration by solution of common salt 
is oidy partial. Columns 3 and 4, 
show a very uneven penetration 
by "dead oil." Water dissolves 
out all the salt used. Columns 5 
and G, show the uneven distribu- 
tion of mineral matters. 



Absorption power low. Physical 
condition of specimens very bad. 
Saturating material easily soluble 
in alkaline fluids. The strength of 
wood in these samples stands at a 
.minimum, especially its traverse 
and crushing strength. 



Average absorption power very 
low. Saturation thorough and very 
uniform. (See Columns 3, 4, 9 and 
10.) Solid hydrocarbons present 
within the cells. Condition of 
fibre uninjured. 



Absorption power very high. 
Per centageof liquid hydrocarbons 
very low in all portions of block 
except the outer. No solid hydro- 
carbons observed, even on surface 
(naphthalin, &c.) Condition of 
wood shows injury from heat. 
Specimens are evidently suited for 
exposure to dry air only, under 
which circumstances the protec- 
tion is sufficient. 



Saturation uneven, 
and 4, also 9 and 10.) 
power quite high. 



(Columns 3 
Absorption 



The same remarks made under 
Nos. 10 and;20 (Eobbins' process), 
apply to this specimen, with the 
difference that, the experimental 
results show the Bobbins' process 
to be very much superior to this , 
which presents identical claims. 



OFFICE OF THE 

AMERICAN WOOD CAKBOLIZING CO., 

No. 59 Liberty Street, New York. 



Deatc Sm : 

The American Wood Cakbolizing Company is organized under the Genera] Laws of 
the State of New York, with a capital stock of One Million Dollars, divided into Ten Thousand 
Shares of $100 each. 

Tins Company is organized for the purpose of carl loh'zing or creosoting timber for docks, rail load 
ties, telegraph poles, fence posts, pavements, and all other uses where timber is exposed to the action 
of water or air. This Company also proposes to dispose of rights for States or to railroad companies 
and others who desire to erect their own apparatus. 

Drawings and specifications of apparatus, either stationary or portable', will be furnished on 
application. 

The rapid destruction of forests and consequent yearly increase of price of lumber, renders 
the preservation of timber a necessity. 

Sixty thousand miles of railroads use annually, twenty-four million ties for repairs consequent 
upon decay. The quantity of lumber used by railroad companies for other purposes is about equal 
to that consumed for ties. 

The use for railroads alone is sufficient to make a perceptible increase in the price of timber, to 
say nothing of that used in pavements, docks, and the thousand other purposes into which wood in 
some form enters. 

The preservation of wood from decay and the attacks of marine worms, has been largely 
practiced in Europe for thirty years, and with such success that the use of natural wood is now the 
exception ; and, of all the various methods that have been emplo # yed, that in which creosote oil was 
used has best endured the. test of time. 

[n this country the great abundance of wood has diverted public attention from the faci that 
our accessible forests are rapidly being depleted. Now all engineers and constructors of public 
works recognize the fact that some means of artificial preservation must be adopted. 

The Amkkican Wood C.vrbolizing Company, benefiting by the thirty years' practical 
experience in the use of creosote oil abroad, otter to the public a system of application which is 
adapted to the wants of our own country, in that green wood can be rapidly and thoroughly treated 
even belter than dry, and the application of the oil in connection with the use of moderate heal, he 
made more uniform and effective than is possible by any other means. 












X 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





000S33&05 c lb 



